About Us

Leadership

Mike Hislop

Chairman of the Board

Mike Hislop currently serves as Chairman of the Board. From 2006 to 2015, Mike was Chief Executive Officer for Corner Bakery Cafe where he helped transform the brand from a company-owned and operated neighborhood gathering spot to a franchised industry leader.

Frank Paci serves as Chief Executive Officer of Corner Bakery Cafe, bringing over 27 years of experience in strategic planning, operations, franchise development and finance. His passion, talent and strong leadership are invaluable as we continue to build the Corner Bakery Cafe Brand.

Blake Bernet joined the Corner Bakery Cafe team in 1996 as corporate counsel, moving into the restaurant business from a transactional law practice with a large Dallas firm. In May 2014 Blake was promoted to Chief Legal Officer, overseeing the increasing legal efforts that come with Corner Bakery Cafe’s fast-paced accelerated growth, as well as legal matters for its sister brand, Il Fornaio.

Seek out most vice presidents of award-winning, multi-million dollar companies and you’ll find them behind closed doors, locked in meetings or glued to their computer screens. Look for Denise Clemens, senior vice president of human resources at Corner Bakery Cafe, and you’ll often find her onsite chatting with one of the company’s more than 3,500 team members.

Paul joined Corner Bakery Cafe in 1998 serving in various field operations roles in Dallas-Fort Worth and Southern California prior to becoming Director of Catering Operations in 2006. He was named Vice President of Operations Services in 2008, Paul was promoted to Vice President of Training & Operations Services in 2010, then to Senior VP of Operation Services & New Concept Development in 2015.

From his hands-on involvement in sales and development to overseeing franchise operations, John LaBarge has played an integral role in the rapid expansion of Corner Bakery Cafe’s franchise system throughout the U.S. Applying over 25 years of individual and multi-unit restaurant operations experience, John works side-by-side with respected industry leaders, developers and operators as the brand more than doubles its presence in the next three years.

Belinda Hebbler became Controller of Corner Bakery Cafe in 2007 to establish an efficient and effective accounting department for the brand after its separation from Brinker. She was promoted to Vice President of Finance in 2010 and has current responsibility for all accounting, treasury and financial reporting functions.

Holland Burton has been with Corner Bakery Cafe since March of 2015. She has been in the restaurant real estate sector for her entire career, during which she has been the senior real estate executive for several national restaurants and specialty food concepts. Holland’s background is diverse with site selection expertise in a variety of venues such as shopping centers, malls, street locations, and airports.